Statement by the UN LGBTI Core Group
Chairperson,
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the Member States of the LGBTI Core Group, an informal cross regional group established in 2008.
The group is co-chaired by Argentina and The Netherlands, and includes Albania, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Timor Leste, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, Uruguay, the European Union, as well as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the non-governmental organizations Human Rights Watch and OutRight International.
Chairperson,
The Group would like to address the concerning issue of ageism and age discrimination that continues to affect older persons globally. Across all spheres of everyday life, older persons face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination not only based on age but also on other grounds, including their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression or sex characteristic, leading to further marginalization and exclusion.
The discrimination that many LGBTI persons have faced throughout their lives continues and is amplified into later life, having a compounding effect on the enjoyment of all their human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights, including access to the labor market, social protection, education, and life – long learning, access to justice, as well as access to health services.
Recent reports suggest that many older LGBTI persons often face loneliness and barriers of inclusion in their communal setting, leaving them excluded from participating in social activities. Furthermore, it is common that LGBTI persons who were open about their sexual orientation and gender identity throughout their life course resort to conceal their identity once more as they age in order to be included.
The unique challenges that older LGBTI persons face must be recognized and addressed by Member States when developing their national policies.
We urge Member States to prioritize mainstreaming ageing in their public policies, aiming to strengthen the enjoyment and fulfillment of the human rights of all older persons, including older LGBTI persons. By integrating their needs into policy planning, we can ensure that no one is left behind as we strive for a more inclusive and just society for all.
To take the necessary measures and adopt informed policies that truly address those challenges, we urgently need relevant data to understand the situations of older LGBTI persons. This data should be disaggregated, where possible and appropriate, to ensure that we adequately capture the complexity and intersectionality of their experiences. We can better address the different ageing experiences and challenges by adopting an intersectional approach.
The Core Group recognizes the resilience of all older LGBTI persons and highlights their role as activists and human rights defenders, contributing to the promotion of laws to guarantee the protection of their human rights, and paving the way for the younger generations in their fight for equality for all.
We strongly believe that older persons, including older LGBTI persons, should fully, equally, and meaningfully participate in decision-making processes which affect them. This can only be achieved if we actively involve them in the development, implementation, and monitoring of policies and programs that directly impact their lives.
As we begin this 13th session, the Group calls upon Member States to actively participate in the discussions of the Open-Ended Working Group to foster a more comprehensive age inclusive approach to addressing the challenges faced by older persons in all their diversity worldwide, and to include them as active agents of change in our efforts to fully promote, respect, protect and fulfill their human rights The Group firmly believes that by doing so, we will truly achieve our goal to ensure universal respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.